A group of our sign holders practices for Election Day, as we head into the final stretch of our Campaign for Change.

Our phone lines and emails are filled with people looking for ways to get involved– and there’s plenty to do. There’s an excitement in the air about the possibility of real change in our community for the first time in many years.

We’ll be poll monitoring at every precinct in the district, with experts and attorneys on call to help with any problems that come up and specially trained poll monitors who are dedicated to doing everything we can to make sure that this election is fair, open and an honest representation of the will of the people — not just for our campaign, but for every candidate on the ballot.

Outside of the polls, our volunteers are helping with free rides to the polls, reminder calls and, of course, door-to-door-outreach. And as you can see from the photo above, they’re practicing their moves for Election Day sign holding.

With your help, we can win this and bring a much-needed change of leadership to District 46!

For the past few months, Carl Trujillo and our Campaign for Change have been reaching out to cause organizations and citizens activist groups in our community — not to ask them for endorsements, but to listen to their concerns and best ideas for how to make northern New Mexico a better place for all of us.

Carl has met for substantive sit-down conversations with groups and community leaders concerned with the environment, domestic violence, animal rights, youth programs, the arts, local business, sustainability, water issues, homelessness and many, many more issues vital to northern New Mexico. And without exception, all of these groups have responded enthusiastically to our Campaign for Change.

As a citizen legislator, Carl Trujillo knows that making our community better isn’t just the work of one person wielding power, but the combined effort of everyone who cares about our community. That’s the kind of candidate he’s been and that’s the kind of representative he’ll be.

Everywhere we go, our Campaign for Change hears the same thing: that people in our community don’t feel listened to by the current political leadership.

So to help fix that problem, we’ve launched a series of Listening Parties that give members of our community an opportunity to voice their concerns about what’s wrong with our state government and what the priorities should be. Carl’s plan is to continue these Listening Parties into the general election and make them part of his work as our representative.

Listening parties are very different from traditional “house parties” or “Meet the Candidate” events. They’re all about listening, not talking — they’re not about giving speeches or even asking for support, but rather about hearing YOUR concerns and priorities first and foremost.

At tonight’s listening party in Nambe, we heard people voice concerns about the poor quality of education in the district, the lack of basic services and the cronyism and corruption that makes real change difficult. And always the same priority — change, change and more change!

Carl expressed his support for a more open, honest and responsive government that really listens to and serves the people — and once again, we’ve added more support for our Campaign for Change.

Want to host a Listening Party in your community? Email us at Trujillo4Rep@gmail.com. We’ll do all the work — all you have to do is invite your friends and share your concerns about the future of New Mexico.

We have just one more week to go before Election Day, and we’re happy to report that support for our Campaign for Change increases with every passing day . Carl Trujillo and his volunteers have been spending all day, every day, listening to community members talk about their concerns for the future of New Mexico.

Through phone calls, emails, personal visits and listening parties, we’re hearing the same thing over and over again: people are ready for change.

We are struggling with record deficits, a public school system that’s ranked 49th out of 50 in the country, near 10% unemployment, and a state government listed as the third most corrupt in the nation. To solve these problems, we need to get rid of the old-style “politics as usual” political machine that has controlled our government for too long, and elect leaders that can move us into the future.

Early voting has already started and the last day to vote is June 1 — cast your vote today for change!

This week, Carl Trujillo visited with residents of the Chimayo community to hear their concerns about the lack of safe drinking water in their neighborhoods.

Currently, there are 5000 residents in the Chimayo service area, and only about 331 meters installed to serve them. This means that the large majority of people are forced to go to great lengths to get safe drinking water. Many get a rotten egg smell when they turn on their taps, and there is so much silt in their well water that they have to replace the filter to their washing machines monthly or more frequently. And worst of all, in addition to nitrates and sulfur, in some locations, there is also uranium in the water

It is morally inexcusable that a mere 30 miles from Santa Fe, one of the most affluent communities in New Mexico, people of our community live without one of the most basic requirements for life – clean, safe drinking water, while they are represented by the most powerful politician in the state who has had 36 years to solve this problem.

As a representative, one of Carl’s priorities will be to solve this decades-old problem by working with the residents of Chimayo and the northern part of Santa Fe County to provide the clean, safe drinking water they need.

Carl Trujillo talks with voters at Community Day on the Plaza. As a “citizen legislator,” Carl’s priority will be to do what representatives in a democracy are supposed to do — represent the concerns, priorities and needs of the people of the community.

As a citizen legislature rather than a career politician, Carl is genuinely part of the community, with the same hopes, concerns and priorities that we all share. And his pledge to take no campaign contributions over $100 means that when he’s in the legislature, he won’t owe anything to special interests — he is free to vote for the best interests of the people 100% of the time.

“I believe strongly in the concept of a citizen legislator. I believe that’s the way our democracy was intended to work. The problem when one person is in office for too long is that they become career politicians, and they put their personal interests and the interests of their friends before the interests of the people. I’m not a career politician. I’m part of this community, I’m a citizen first, and I’m running to represent the people.” — Carl Trujillo

Carl spent part of a beautiful sunny Saturday meeting with members of the Pablo Sena Community Garden in Pojoaque. The large community garden will grow chile, lettuce, tomatoes, corn and other vegetables.

Projects like this one are vital to the health and well-being of our district. Neighbors working together to make the community better create safer neighborhoods, stronger family ties and a culture that encourages participation, teamwork and a sense that “when everyone does better, everyone does better.”

Currently, there are 5000 residents in the service area, and only 331 meters installed to serve them. This means that the great majority of people are forced to go to great lengths to get drinkable water. Many get a rotten egg smell when they turn on their taps, and there is so much silt in their well water that they have to replace the filter to their washing machines monthly or more frequently. And worst of all, in addition to nitrites and sulfur, there is also uranium in the water.

There is plenty of potable water in the Santa Cruz Lake/reservoir that’s about a mile away from central Chimayo. All that is lacking is the infrastructure to deliver it, which the state government has not chosen to fund.

Chimayo isn’t the only community lacking basic services. Pojoaque also lacks a comprehensive water service, and the whole area lacks trash and recycling pickup and sewer service.

It is morally inexcusable that a mere 30 miles from Santa Fe, one of the most affluent communities in New Mexico, members of our community live without one of the most basic requirements for life – clean, safe drinking water.

As a representative, one of Carl’s priorities will be to solve this decades-old problem by working to provide the residents of Chimayo with the clean, safe drinking water they need.

Carl Trujillo was interviewed live in KSWV radio this morning, and we’re still getting calls and emails from people who heard him speak and are joining our campaign, calling Carl a much-needed “breath of fresh air.”

For those of you who missed the interview, you can listen to another interview with Carl on 950 AM KDCE tomorrow, Friday, May 14, at 8:40 a.m.

UPDATE 5/14: Carl’s interview on KDCE generated still more calls and emails in support of for our Campaign for Change. You can listen to the interview at our website, www.CarlTrujillo.com.

After spending time with his own mother, Dolores, Carl Trujillo and his son Thomas celebrated with community members at the Women’s Health Center Mother’s Day Walk at Solana Center.

There’s an old saying, “When Mama’s not happy, nobody’s happy!” And the needs of moms in northern New Mexico reflect the most critical issues facing us today. Record budget deficits caused in part by government corruption and mismanagement have led to serious cuts in needed services including health care and education. State employees forced to take unpaid furlough days have less money to provide for their families. And the state government’s financial crisis means less grant money available for vital programs for preventing teen pregnancy and domestic violence.

We can fix these problems, but first we must start by cleaning up state government so that our tax dollars and government resources can be focused where they’re most needed — on the people of northern New Mexico.